With a new coach and new-look team, proud AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan is looking to bounce back from an up-and-down season in which the team did not have met its main goals, but still added to its already stuffed trophy case. Last season, Milan came into the new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with great ambition, and got off to an excellent start. Milan won its season opener against Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv and a road triumph at Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul made Milan one of only four undefeated teams, then home wins over Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz behind its high-scoring offense put the team in a share of fourth place with a 4-3 record. However, Milan did not manage to continue at the same pace, and a combination of many factors, including absences due to injuries of key players, got Milan off the winning track pretty quickly. It led to a 10-game losing streak. Despite being in last place, Milan did not stop fighting. It not only won big at home against Olympiacos Piraeus, but also overcame a 25-point deficit in a memorable win over Darussafaka. Three wins in four games quickly got Milan back into the playoff conversation, but more injuries to key contributors Krunoslav Simon, Zoran Dragic, Mantas Kalnietis, Awudu Abass and Rakim Sanders ended that talk and the team finished the season in last place with an 8-22 record. Claiming the Italian Cup after downing Dinamo Sassari in the final gave Milan a mid-season boost and the team proceeded to take first place at the end of the Italian League regular season. However, despite the home-court advantage, Milan was ousted in the semifinals by Dolomiti Energia Trento, ending its season sooner than it hoped.

EuroLeague

SEASON

COMPETITION

RECORD

FINISH

2016-17

EuroLeague

8-22

Regular Season

2015-16

EuroLeague

3-7

Regular Season

2014-15

EuroLeague

9-15

Top 16

2013-14

EuroLeague

16-12

Playoffs

2012-13

EuroLeague

3-7

Regular Season

2011-12

EuroLeague

7-9

Top 16

2010-11

EuroLeague

4-6

Regular Season

2009-10

EuroLeague

3-7

Regular Season

2008-09

EuroLeague

7-9

Top 16

2007-08

EuroLeague

3-11

Regular Season

2005-06

EuroLeague

5-9

Regular Season

TOTAL:

68-114

EuroCup

SEASON

COMPETITION

RECORD

FINISH

2015-16

EuroCup

6-4

Quarterfinal

2003-04

EuroCup

9-3

Eighthfinal

TOTAL:

15-7

History

Milan seemed destined for greatness from its beginnings. Founded in 1936, Milan immediately won four consecutive domestic titles. Thirty years later, the arrival of Bill Bradley helped turn Milan into a continental power as the club conquered the 1966 EuroLeague title in front of its home fans. Milan added three Saporta Cup trophies between 1971 and 1976 led by Art Kenney, Renzo Bariviera, Giorgio Giomo and Coach Cesare Rubini. The team tacked on Korac Cup crowns in 1985 and 1993. Mike D'Antoni, Dino Meneghin and Joe Barry Carroll helped Milan beat Varese in the 1985 Korac Cup final, while Aleksandar Djordjevic, Antonello Riva and Riccardo Pittis led Milan past Roma in the 1993 Korac Cup title series. Milan achieved its best moments with a classic team of stars: Meneghin, Bob McAdoo and D'Antoni. They led Olimpia to back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 1987 and 1988, both times against Maccabi Tel Aviv, under two different head coaches, Dan Peterson and Franco Casalini. Milan won both the Italian League and the Italian Cup in 1996 with Nando Gentile, Dejan Bodiroga and Gregor Fucka. A lengthy rough patch followed, but a new era arrived for Olimpia Milano when fashion mogul Giorgio Armani became the team’s main sponsor. Milan made it to the Italian League finals in 2005 before losing against Climamio Bologna, but earned the right to play again in the EuroLeague. Armani Jeans Milano reached the EuroLeague Top 16 in the 2008-09 season after winning five of its last six regular season games. The team also made it back to the Italian League finals, a feat it repeated in 2010. The club was back in the EuroLeague Top 16 in 2011-12, and the rise continued for the next two seasons. In 2013-14 Milan returned to prominence at the highest levels of European basketball when it clinched home-court advantage for the EuroLeague playoffs, but was ousted by eventual champion Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. However, it refocused its efforts at home and knocked off Montepaschi Siena to win the Italian League for the first time since 1996. The last three EuroLeague seasons have not been as successful, as injuries often got in the way. But in the 2015-16 campaign, Milan recovered from EuroLeague regular season disappointment by reaching the EuroCup quarterfinals in a rare appearance in that competition, before going on to sweep the domestic titles by beating Sidigas Avellino for the Italian Cup and Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia in the Italian League finals for its first Italian double in 20 years. Last season, Milan defended its Italian Cup crown, but now is ready for a reset, and under a new coach, and poised to compete for the highest goals amongst Europe’s best teams in the EuroLeague.